A number of pneumatically operated devices have been developed for use in driving fasteners, such as staples and nails, into workpieces. These tools typically employ a magazine assembly for holding a plurality of the fasteners and feeding the fasteners into the nose of the tool prior to the installation of the fasteners into a workpiece.
Despite the wide spread use of such tools, several drawbacks have been noted. One such drawback concerns the dry-firing of the tool when an insufficient number of fasteners are contained in the magazine assembly. As is known in the art, the dry-firing of such tools tends to be harmful to the tool.
Another drawback relates to situations wherein one or more fasteners are jammed in the nose of the tool. In such situations, the magazine assembly is typically removed from the fastening tool so as to provide sufficient space to permit the operator to remove the jammed fasteners from the nose of the fastening tool. Often times, tools, such as pliers, are employed in this task, so that the amount of space that is required for servicing the nose of the tool can be significant. Unfortunately, the complete removal of the magazine assembly from the remainder of the tool is often times very time consuming and may also require the use of additional tools to physically disconnect the magazine assembly.